Blood West – Review
I’ve been searching for a single-player version of Hunt: Showdown for a long time. I’m not a fan of PvP. Because of the stress they bring, the fun factor quickly fades away for me, especially in games like Tarkov and Hunt, where you lose your character, items, weapons, gear, and so on.
In other words, is this game like Hunt: Showdown? Nope. Because the game lacks any sort of extraction mechanism. Stalker and Anomaly are two of the most popular single-player games in the Escape from Tarkov-like Escape from Tarkov genre. However, I am not interested in games with similar themes. I’d gladly accept it, but that isn’t the primary reason for my request. Similar game mechanics are what I’m after. Extraction mechanics, for example.
Other than Tarkov and Hunt, no other game has had me collecting items (or boss tokens in Hunt) and then attempting to escape via extraction. Of course, Fallout 3, 4, and New Vegas can be compared to the extraction mechanic in that respect, but they aren’t the same thing at all. Even though you can return to your base in Fallout 4, it doesn’t really feel like a base that you care about; it’s there but has an artificial feeling to it; thus, they don’t feel the same.
However, it’s close in this game. The itch might be scratched. Weapons, ammo, and other supplies are scattered throughout the game and can be found by looting corpses. Then, when you’ve exhausted your supplies, you head back to your original campsite and sell your haul to a nearby trader. It may sound like I’m talking about a fallout game, but I can assure you that this is not the case. In this game, encounters and how you get from one location to the next are significantly different. But there are no loading screens, of course.. When you arrive at the mission area, it’s more like you’ve stepped into a dark souls game than anything else. The reason I’m telling you this is because when I first started playing Dark Souls 3, it felt like it took forever to get from one bonfire to the next. While the first bonfire seemed like a distant memory, the next one beckoned and I made my way there “Is that the end of it? That was a very close call.” The difficulty or difficulty it was for me to eliminate my adversaries on the way to the next bonfire made me believe it was a long way. The next time was a piece of cake; I didn’t even bother with enemies anymore; I just ran past them to get to the bonfire, and it only took a few minutes to get there.
As a result, Bloodwest’s gameplay structure is nearly identical to that of its predecessors. At first, you kill your enemies by sneaking up on them without making a peep or a sound. Reserve your ammo instead of using it up, as well. Once you’ve gained experience and a few advantages, such as the ability to purchase better weapons and ammo, you’ll feel more confident and less inclined to sneak around as much, which will allow you to get to your destination much faster. This gameplay loop was enjoyable to play through. Play it safe at first, and only then should you unleash the full force of your might. Don’t, if you don’t want to. The choice is yours; as far as I know, any style of gameplay works here.
The game is currently in early access, so there isn’t a lot to do, but I spent about seven and a half hours completing all the quests and defeating the final boss. Reloading animations are excellent, headshots are satisfying, and melee attacks work well. If you enjoy inventory management and the gameplay loop of the Dark Souls series, you’ll enjoy this. In this game, you use firearms and melee weapons instead of the mediaeval weapons you used in Dark Souls. Like in dark souls, however, you approach every enemy with care. It’s not just about sneaking up on someone and backstabbing that I mean by approaching with caution. This challenge is evident even when you’re engaged in a firefight with simple foes, and you can feel it in your bones. Before engaging in combat, you have to assess the situation. To sum up, the game’s gameplay is not in any way reminiscent of the classic shooters of old.
However, I must request of the game’s creators that they include additional gameplay mechanics for upcoming acts. If the next acts are the same but in a different environment and with different enemy types, then it may become tedious to some players very quickly. You need to make some changes to the gameplay loop in order to keep the attention and interest of the players. Some players, for example, have stated in reviews and discussions that more weapon slots are required in order for players to swap between weapons more quickly. To be honest, switching weapons is more of a hassle than it is a source of excitement. Then it’s an excellent time to get involved: For example, you could incorporate the weapon slot upgrade mechanic from Far Cry 3 into your game. If you can bring him a good skin, he can make a backback for you that increases your inventory, and he can make a new holster for you so that you get a weapon slot, like the other trader npcs. Even though I understand why you don’t want to give that slot right away, there are probably some balancing issues to be worked out, I think that giving this option with quests like “kill the hellish creature and bring me its skin” would be a good fit for the game. In this case, it’s just a simple case study. There should be more of this type of content added so that players will have goals other than locating the game’s main objective items and completing it. Aside activities/game mechanics can easily be incorporated into the current game structure. It’s true that exploring and finding items, ammo, and the like is a side activity, but it’s necessary in some cases. So, finding things isn’t the only reason to explore.
Another thing I’d like to see is something akin to Hunt. I realise this is a long shot. One of you has more than 600 hours of playtime on that game, so it’s clear that you wanted a game in the same style as well. In addition to theme, it would be fantastic if you could include game mechanics like extraction. A loading screen appears to indicate that we have left the world map and have entered something like a dungeon. If you manage to kill the miniboss, a swarm of enemies will appear in random locations, and you will be unable to deal with them even if you are extremely powerful. As a result, you must flee the dungeon immediately. You can avoid this by either fleeing quickly or playing it safe and stealthy, but if you wait too long, the mobs may congregate in your escape routes, making it more difficult for you to get away. It’d be fantastic if we could do this. Of course, what kind of memorabilia will we find there? Will we get a trophy for defeating the boss? you bring to an NPC that gives you something like free perk points, or perhaps an exclusive perk or weapon that you can only get by doing so. I’m not sure what to make of this part of the game, but if you could add something like that and make the game feel even remotely like Hunt in terms of gameplay, it would be the best game ever. Because games like Tarkov and Hunt do not exist, and multiplayer in those two is something I despise. You have the opportunity to be the first person to do this.
Because I know it’s easy to say but hard to do, I’ll still play and support the game regardless of whether or not it includes the features I requested. That is something I am aware of. Thank you for this wonderful journey so far, and I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavours.
